Roundabout aims to help make streets safe in this part of Bellingham
A roundabout is planned for the intersection of Meridian and West Illinois streets, along with bike lanes, crosswalks and other safety measures for people walking, biking and driving in the Columbia neighborhood and Fountain District.
Construction on the $3.5 million project is slated to start this summer and last about six months, said Amy Cloud, spokeswoman for the Bellingham Public Works Department.
Some of the funding will come from the city’s transportation tax and some from a state grant, Cloud told The Bellingham Herald.
Detours during the project haven’t been decided yet, she said in an email.
Some 5,500 cars daily use West Illinois Street at Meridian Street, according to a 2018 traffic survey by the city of Bellingham.
When the single-lane “mini” roundabout is installed at Meridian and Illinois streets, the traffic signal will be removed, said Chad Schulhauser, assistant director of Public Works, in a February presentation to the Bellingham City Council about summer road project.s.
“We also, with the roundabout, we’ll move the crossings farther away from the intersection, reducing those conflicting turn movements (and) making safer crossings out there,” Schulhauser said.
That intersection is part of a commercial district that includes a Haggen supermarket and is a few blocks north of the Fountain District “urban village,” which has seen several new apartment buildings and a commercial transformation in recent years.
Daily traffic count is 9,500 cars on Meridian Street south of West Illinois Street and 11,400 cars daily north of the intersection, according to a 2018 survey by the city.
This summer’s project will add sidewalks to the south side of West Illinois Street from Meridian to Lynn streets and bring corners and crossing ramps to Americans with Disabilities Act requirements, according to a project description at the city’s website.
Bike lanes will be added on Meridian Street north of West Illinois Street, and “sharrows” will be added south of the intersection because curbside parking for the commercial district will remain on Meridian Street. Sharrows are pavement markings indicating where cyclists and cars share a lane.
Bike lanes will be added to both sides of West Illinois street, and parking will be removed on the north side of the street, Cloud said.
In addition, pedestrian crossings with blinking yellow lights will be installed at the intersection of Meridian and West North streets, Meridian and Oregon streets and Girard and H streets.
